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This week, UZH will host 120 university leaders and around 280 other guests from institutions from 33 European countries for the Annual Conference of the European University Association (EUA) taking place from 4 to 6 April 2018. “It is an honor for UZH to be hosting this major international university conference for the first time,” says UZH President and swissuniversities President Michael Hengartner. Staging the EUA Annual Conference also provides a valuable opportunity to further consolidate the outstanding international reputation of UZH and the Swiss higher education sector, adds Hengartner.
The title of this year’s conference is “Engaged and responsible universities shaping Europe”. The ten presentations and discussion events will focus on the role and the significance of universities in society and the contributions they can make to tackling current challenges. Examples are social inequality, demographic change, digitalization and automation, and migration. Other aspects are increasing populism undermining people’s trust in science, and political conflicts that test democracy and Central European values.
For Michael Hengartner, it’s a good time for UZH to host the conference. The framework is currently being negotiated for the follow-on program to the eighth EU research program, Horizon 2020, which runs until the end of 2020. “Swiss higher education institutions have been successful players in the champions league of European research and innovation for many years. We need to make the most of this,” claims Hengartner. The EUA conference offers an ideal opportunity for Swiss institutions to network directly with numerous leaders from other European universities and to share their visions for the future of the European research and education landscape.
